In the automated processing of unitary products through handling operations such as packaging or production operations, on, for example a conveyor belt or similar product moving system, it is generally necessary that the product units be guided into certain prescribed paths at one or more points in their movement. An example of such a situation is in the case of bakery products, for example buns, rolls, donuts etc. that are handled by automated systems particularly in the packaging operations.
In the prior art many such systems have been designed and utilized successfully. A major shortcoming of most such devices of the prior art, however, revolves about their adjustability or flexibility to accept different units of product or to alter the transfer location of the same product due to the time required to reset or readjust the movement lanes for a particular product or required product orientation in the automated line. Such prior art systems generally relied upon mechanical systems that involved the unfastening and fastening of a variety of devices such as screws, bolts etc. to accomplish the desired lane alterations or adjustments. Such mechanical adjustments often required the use of tool or tools to accomplish the desired lane reorientations. As is readily apparent to those skilled in this art, such adjustments can be time and labor consuming and result in downtime on the production machinery which translates into lost productivity and profits.
Accordingly, there continues to exist a need for a product lane adjustment system that allows for rapid and easy alteration of product movement lanes in automated product handling systems.